Boynton Beach, FL Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Fla. 032(7)(a) preempts the regulation of public lodging establishments, including sanitation standards, inspections, and personnel training, to the state, but expressly does not preempt a local government's authority to inspect for compliance with the Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code. Subsection (7)(b) narrows the preemption further for vacation rentals specifically: a local law, ordinance or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals, though that limitation does not apply to any local regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011.

Because the state preemption is limited to prohibition, duration and frequency, Boynton Beach retains authority to set who and how many people can stay in a unit, and it exercises that authority in Sec. 13-96(a): overnight occupancy is limited to two persons per sleeping room plus two additional persons, up to a maximum of ten persons in a unit, subject also to the general occupancy limitations in Chapter 10, Article IX, Sec. 10-57, with the sleeping room count and size confirmed by a City inspector.

The rule layers a gathering cap on top of the overnight cap: any gathering at the property cannot exceed one and one-half times the registered occupancy shown on the Certificate of Use and Occupancy, and in no event may a gathering exceed fifteen people regardless of bedroom count. Up to four children under age ten are excluded from the occupancy tabulation, and if any registered guest is under 21, an adult guest at least 25 years old must be present at all times.